Good morning everyone,

Welcome back to another volume of the (A)Political Newsletter! This week we have the House voting on cutting business taxes and giving a child tax credit to parents. Social media companies were grilled by Congress over not protecting children enough. President Biden’s leading PAC has made a $250 million advertising buy in the lead up to the presidential election. Former Speaker McCarthy and his allies are preparing to primary some of those who voted to oust him.

In today’s edition:

• Stock Watching/Poll Updates

• Bipartisan House Tax Bill Gets Frost Reception in Senate

• Social Media Executives Under Fire from Bipartisan Congressional Committee

• Top Biden PAC to Invest $250 million in advertising for 2024

• Former Speaker McCarthy Seeks Revenge against “Gaetz Eight”

CONGRESSIONAL STOCK WATCHER

• Representative Mark Green just disclosed a sale of up to $250K of stock in NGL Energy.

• We published several posts on Green's NGL buys last year. He bought up to $1.3M of NGL stock in 2023. The stock has risen over 253% in the last year.

• This trade caught my eye. Senator Markwayne Mullin just disclosed a purchase of stock in a company called Badger Meter.

  • Badger Meter produces automated water meter technology.

  • The EPA recently passed a mandate requiring utilities to upgrade to new automated water meters..

• This trade caught my eye.

  • Senator Markwayne Mullin just disclosed a purchase of stock in a company called Badger Meter.

    • Badger Meter produces automated water meter technology. The EPA recently passed a mandate requiring utilities to upgrade to new automated water meters.…

• Senator Tina Smith bought up to $250K of stock in a company called Tactile Systems. The stock has now risen over 50% since.

• BREAKING: The Justice Department is reportedly investigating Representative Cori Bush.

  • She has been accused of misusing government money meant for personal security.

• Nvidia stock has now risen almost 30% since Nancy Pelosi bought up to $5M of call options. Our Nancy Pelosi Strategy is up almost 50% in the last year.

Bipartisan House Tax Bill Gets Frosty Reception in Senate

February 2, 2024 - Republicans and Democrats in the House voted on a tax bill and passed it with overwhelming votes. The bill has two main functions, one where parents would get back more child tax credits, and the other is expanding more business tax cuts. The bill would have a far easier time getting through a non-election year, but the hyper-partisanship of the election year, where neither side wants to give the other a legislative win that the presidential candidates can use on the campaign trail.

The Senate is skeptical of the deal because of both the presidential campaign and over efforts of how to finance it. Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina has questions over how it will be financed, while other Senators want it to go through the Senate Finance Committee, where it will be studied, and then brought to the floor. The House passed it without having the House Finance Committee investigate it. Republicans also want to strengthen the work requirements for the tax credit, a common theme among Republican endorsement of government stipends.

The business part of the tax cuts would allow companies to deduct their research and development costs from their taxes, which was cheered on by research-heavy industries like technology and pharmaceuticals. The bill will most likely pass, but may not be in the same form as the one that passed through the House.

Social Media Executives Under Fire from Bipartisan Congressional Committee

February 1, 2024 - The chief executives of TikTok, Snapchat, Meta, X, and Discord sat in front of a Senate Committee investigating their steps to protect children on their websites. Specifically, they are invistaging how liable the companies are in childrens’ negatives interactions with the sites. A bipartisan list of Senators agreed that the executives are not doing enough to protect children from exploitation online. In the audience were both victims and parents of people who had negative experiences with social media usage, with some holding up pictures of loved ones who died from suicide, which they say is from social media.

Leader of Meta Mark Zuckerberg apologized to the families in the audience during the hearings. The impacts of social media on teenagers and children are seen as negative, with Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy releasing a statement that found increased social media usage caused children to have poor body image and worse sleep, among other negative effects. The hearings are just one of many methods governments, both the Federal and state levels are trying to protect children from social media. Some states are taking the drastic option to prevent any children below a certain age from accessing social media whatsoever.

Top Biden PAC To Invest $250 million in Advertising for 2024

February 1, 2024 - Future Forward, the main Super PAC supporting President Biden, has announced a $250 million investment into the ten weeks between the Democratic National Convention and Election Day. The money is devoted to major battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona, among others. The money will be devoted to moderate voters who may have less information about the election.

Future Forward was the biggest spender in Biden’s 2020 campaign, spending $140 million. This year’s money is going to dwarf that amount by a large margin. The campaign has stated this is the single largest investment in campaign history. Donors are piling money into the campaign to stymy former President’s possible second term. Biden’s campaign infrastructure is ramping up after being dormant for months, showing he is starting to ramp up and prepare for a rematch against Trump.

Former Speaker McCarthy Seeks Revenge against “Gaetz Eight”

February 1, 2024 - Politico reports that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s House allies are seeking to primary some Republicans who voted to out him. The leader of this revenge operation is an ally of McCarthy, Brian O. Walsh. They are seeking to primary Reps. Nancy Mace, Bob Good, and Eli Crane. McCarthy, while not overseeing the effort, does know what is going on and has given his blessing. McCarthy will seek to use his vast donor network, cultivated over his many years in the House, to both recruit strong candidates and fund their campaigns. Nancy Mace is seen as the most vulnerable of the three, and a candidate backed by McCarthy’s donors, Catherine Templeton, will announce her candidacy next week.

Another primary candidate, State Sen. John McGuire, is seen as a candidate to primary Rep. Ralph Norman. Tim Burchett, another member of the Gaetz Eight, is seen as dealing with a possible primary challenger, former State Sen. Jimmy Matlock, who mounted a primary challenge against Burchett but lost.

• Italy Hosts Meeting With African Leaders - Sebastien Gray

• ANC National Executive Committee Suspends Former President Jacob Zuma - Bianca Bridger

• Georgia marks 15th anniversary of Russo-Georgian war - Joaquin Comarena

• Mexico Angered by U.S. Military Grade Weapons Used by Cartels - Matthew Dellinger

• President Xi accepts Taliban Ambassador to China - Atlas

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